Chapter 761: Rebirth Cuts His Lifespan
Before Ziqiong could respond, Xu Bai, unable to contain his curiosity, asked with a look of profound confusion, "This transaction is of immense importance, so I can understand why you would come in person, Senior. But with your power, concealing your identity should be a simple matter. Why..."
"...aren't you afraid that the Heaven Overturning Association might learn of this and use it as leverage against you?" Xu Bai's gaze was sharp, fixed on Ziqiong.
Ziqiong replied coolly, "Leverage? Heh, don't misunderstand. Although I represent the Five Elders Council this time, that means very little."
"I am merely running an errand."
Ziqiong's complete lack of fear, his utter confidence, left Xu Bai feeling unsettled and suspicious.
"No need to be surprised. At the end of the day, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance belongs to the Immortal Ancestor. And I, from beginning to end, have been loyal only to him. Everything else is inconsequential."
"As they say, the Great Dao has fifty aspects, yet heaven calculates with but forty-nine. If the Heavenly Profound Mirror seeks to perceive all things in this world, then it is only natural that things beyond its control must also exist."
"Otherwise, this 'new heaven' would be imperfect."
Ziqiong tilted his head back, his gaze sweeping across the sky as he explained without any sense of urgency.
"Hmph. Not that those common minds could ever hope to comprehend my intentions."
Though his words were few, the amount of information they contained was staggering. Hearing this, Xu Bai fell into deep contemplation.
"Until you reach that realm, knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing." After a short while, Immortal Sage Ziqiong spoke, interrupting Xu Bai's train of thought.
With a casual flick of his finger, he tossed over the Origin Magnetic Mother Stone containing the trade goods.
This time, however, he did not establish any sort of contract.
It was clear he was supremely confident in his own strength, unafraid of any tricks Xu Bai might try to pull.
Nevertheless, Xu Bai followed protocol, inspecting and verifying the inventory of materials within the stone before handing over the fifty previously agreed-upon Terminal Discs.
"This is the first batch," Xu Bai explained. "The rest will have to be delivered over time."
The fifty Terminal Discs were not stored in a spatial container. Instead, they were stacked together like thin sheets of paper.
At a turn of his thought, they would separate on their own, becoming individual objects.
Ziqiong took one of the discs in his hand to examine it.
After a moment, he remarked thoughtfully, "This object seems unremarkable, yet it can block the perception of the Heavenly Profound Mirror..."
"Interesting."
Putting the Terminal Discs away, Ziqiong then instructed, "Future transactions will be handled by someone else. If the Heaven Overturning Association runs into any sudden emergencies, you can still find Liu Wenyu."
"But try to avoid involving me if you can. Although I don't mind..."
"...if those people set their sights on you, even I won't be able to protect you."
Immortal Sage Ziqiong's figure began to fade, and just as his arrival had been abrupt, his departure was equally sudden.
"Senior, in the face of the Heavenly Profound Mirror's relentless pressure, why does the Five Elders Council do nothing but retreat? Are there no countermeasures at all?" Xu Bai asked just as the Immortal Sage's form was about to vanish completely.
Ziqiong did not answer. He merely gave a faint, almost imperceptible glance towards the heavens.
And then he was gone.
"Hmm?" Xu Bai also looked up at the sky.
A moment later, a chilling realization struck him.
This 'heaven' he referred to was clearly not the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Immortal Sage Ziqiong had said that from beginning to end, his loyalty was to the Immortal Ancestor.
His gesture before leaving was therefore obvious.
It wasn't that the Five Elders Council didn't want to retaliate.
It was that with the Immortal Ancestor present, they didn't dare.
The phantom echo of Mr. Bai's sighing words surfaced once more in Xu Bai's mind.
"The path to immortality is barred, with the Immortal Ancestor overhead."
Xu Bai subconsciously clenched his fists. "In the last life, perhaps it was the Immortal Ancestor's departure that caused Ziqiong to fully side with the Five Elders Council, becoming a pure spy."
"But in this life, my use of the 'Chaos' character brought back the Immortal Ancestor who had already left. Consequently, Ziqiong continues to maintain his somewhat unique stance, not acting entirely as a mole for the Five Elders Council."
In that instant, as Xu Bai sorted out the chain of events, a multitude of new questions flooded his mind.
Namely, what was the Immortal Ancestor's true purpose?
If his ultimate goal was to transcend and leave the Xuanhuang Realm, then even with his great interest in the 'Chaos' character, he should have chosen to leave again after returning and searching for it in vain.
But a long time had passed since then.
The Immortal Ancestor still seemed to be lingering in the Xuanhuang Realm, with no sign of wanting to depart.
"It seems the Xuanhuang Realm holds some special meaning for the Immortal Ancestor. It's not something he can simply cast aside."
"Moreover, the Heavenly Profound Mirror's upgrade in this life must have been approved by the Immortal Ancestor himself. He needed the mirror to complete its transformation, yet he tacitly allows for potential loopholes..."
"The Heavenly Dao is flawed. And so, he must also place limits on the Heavenly Profound Mirror."
...
Numerous possible theories flashed through Xu Bai's mind in an instant.
Even with this body, so favored by heaven and earth, gifted with extraordinary talent, he still felt as if he were trying to see flowers in a fog—utterly unable to fathom the Immortal Ancestor's intentions.
His thoughts in a tangle, he returned to Tianling City, only to be summoned by Nangong Shirong.
"Lately, some unpleasant rumors seem to be circulating within our territory. Go and deal with it," Nangong Shirong said, his words seemingly out of the blue.
Logically, Xu Bai was merely the liaison officer for Tianliang Prefecture.
A matter of rumors and gossip would normally fall to either the Garrison Court or the Martial Hall. And yet, Nangong Shirong had quietly entrusted this task to him alone.
Xu Bai understood instantly.
This was a matter that could not be blown out of proportion; it needed to be handled quickly and cleanly.
It was precisely because Nangong Shirong valued Xu Bai's capabilities that he had been given this assignment.
When a superior gives an order, a subordinate cannot refuse.
"Rest assured, my lord. I will handle it properly," Xu Bai guaranteed, cupping his hands in a salute and lifting his head.
After departing under his superior's watchful gaze, Xu Bai made some inquiries and learned what Nangong Shirong had meant by 'unpleasant' rumors.
It turned out that within Tianliang Prefecture, a cultivator named Peng Qing had suddenly gone mad just before his death, flying about erratically.
As he flew, he raved incoherently.
He claimed that he should have lived for five hundred years, but now, at less than four hundred, he was about to die of old age.
He insisted that some villain had stolen years from his life, reducing his lifespan out of thin air.
Cursing furiously, Peng Qing then died abruptly, in full view of the public.
His death was particularly gruesome: blood streamed from his seven orifices as he seemed to age several hundred years in an instant.
His appearance transformed from that of a middle-aged cultivator to a decrepit old man in the blink of an eye.
(End of this chapter)
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